


I'll Fight Their Doubt (And Give You Faith)

by Aerica_Menai



Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga), Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Good Omens Fusion, Asexual Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Other, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, trans!warlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 14:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20996138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerica_Menai/pseuds/Aerica_Menai
Summary: A Fruits Basket Good Omens AU. Kyo and Tohru are an angel and a demon who attempt to prevent the coming Apocalypse...only to realize that the Antichrist they thought they were raising was not the actual Antichrist. Chaos ensues. Featuring lots of Kyo's self-hatred, a strong showing for most oblivious person of the year from both halves of our main couple, and a large helping of domestic fluff.





	I'll Fight Their Doubt (And Give You Faith)

**Author's Note:**

> So this entire idea was inspired by awkwardtacos' gorgeous art (found here: https://tohruskyo.tumblr.com/post/187942498916/awkwardtacos-bangs-on-pots-and-cans-demon-and) and the ending was heavily influenced by the ideas of autisticookie (found here: https://autisticookie.tumblr.com/post/185815901476/a-scene-just-crossed-my-mind-aziraphale-anda) and tenoko1 (found here: https://tenoko1.tumblr.com/post/185838787784/autisticookie-a-scene-just-crossed-my-mind)
> 
> This is also an entry for Kyoru Week 2019 Day 7: Forever (and/or a very late contribution to Day 1: Stay)
> 
> People will note that the relationship, while being Kyo/Tohru, is marked as Other; in this case, Kyo and Tohru are nonbinary beings in an asexual relationship; they are supernatural beings, presenting as male and female but not truly so. Just for the record.
> 
> Beta'd by the ever-amazing and wonderful grayraincurtain!
> 
> Title from Taylor Swift's song Ours.

In the beginning, humanity was expelled from the garden. The Bible (and its many mistranslations) make it sound like this was all the fault of a snake and a woman who listened to him. This is not what happened.

First of all, the demon Kyo would like to point out that his true form looks NOTHING like that of a snake, and where the hell did that damn idea come from anyway?? His true form was draconic, lizard-like maybe – but snake??

Secondly, it was not a temptation or what-the-hell-ever, it was just a conversation. Kyo had the curiosity of a cat, he just asked Eve a question about the tree’s fruit and when she didn’t know the answer, she decided to find it out herself. Kyo felt guilty that he pricked her curiosity, sure, but it wasn’t like he visited the garden with the sole intention of getting humanity kicked out; it was an accident! (Not that he told Akito that, he took complete credit for the whole thing when he wrote the report. He had to maintain his demonic reputation, and everyone stretches the truth when reporting to their boss, so sue him!)

In any case, after Eve bit into the forbidden fruit, Adam chose to do the same and they were banished. Kyo, having discarded his draconic form for a less conspicuous human one, watched them go. He noticed that Adam was carrying…was that sword on fire? But the only flaming sword in existence was the one he had left behind in Heaven, how did it – 

His thoughts were interrupted as an angel appeared next to him. “Ah, hello! My name is Tohru! Who are you?”

Kyo peeked at her, hesitant. “I…don’t like the name I’m known by,” he quietly admitted, expecting the usual disbelief at forsaking what was literally god-given.

But instead, this angel just smiled at him. “Then what would you like me to call you?”

He blinked for a few minutes before speaking the name he had never said aloud before. “Kyo.”

“Kyo, what a wonderful name!”

“It’s not – ” he sputtered before she continued.

“And Kyo, despite what dreadful mess happened here today, I hope that Adam and Eve can find happiness out there.”

Kyo slumped a bit at the reminder of what his curiosity had started, but then he remembered what he had been trying to think of before this angel had appeared out of nowhere. “Speaking of, do you know where Adam got the flaming sword from?”

She glanced quickly around before leaning in, beaming, to whisper, “I gave it to them. For protection, you know!”

Kyo gaped at her. “Wh-what? You gave a human a Heavenly weapon – for protection? What do you think the other angels – or She Herself, for that matter – might have to say about that?”

A slight cloud passed over the angel’s face before she was smiling again. “It was the right thing to do,” she said confidently, “and if the other angels have – or She has – any problems with that, I’ll submit to any punishment She deems necessary, but humanity is going to do great things. And to do that, they need to survive this – and how are they supposed to do that without protection?” She shook her head determinedly. “No, I definitely did the right thing.”

Kyo just stared. He had never met an angel like this before – and he was quite certain that he never would again. Pity that this would probably be their last encounter, he thought to himself as he watched her give him one last smile and fly off.

*~*

Except, as the years, decades and centuries passed, Kyo found himself coming across Tohru surprisingly often for two supernatural beings with an entire planet to roam. And no matter the circumstances, no matter what human-created tragedy or catastrophe he had taken credit for in his infernal reports, no matter how deeply he felt his shame and self-loathing, she always greeted him with a bright smile. He continued to forge weapons of war, helping the humans kill each other and sometimes – he always thought with a smile – protect themselves, in Tohru’s honor. When swords finally fell out of favor as fighting weapons, he heaved a sigh of relief and was able to focus on the craft of making the swords, on teaching how to fight, on protecting rather than killing. 

But while he was stoking the fires of war and fighting, Tohru was focused on the ever-important and ever-changing process of feeding others – cooking and baking of all kinds, with all sorts of new ingredients appearing, some falling out of favor with time and others only growing more and more influence as time marched onwards; there was always something new to learn, and Tohru could always bring a smile to the face of the grumpiest customer with the right meal – and so she sowed the seeds of happiness in each kitchen she worked, happy to do her part to help humanity fulfill its great potential that She had endowed them with. 

And so the two agents of good and evil slowly, over time, became far more engaged in the world of humanity than the bitter rivalry between Heaven and Hell, between “good” and “evil” which seemed so divergent in their home worlds but so closely intertwined in the world of the humans.

*~*

Kyo was a world-famous sword collector, the few swords he continued to forge were highly sought after – and he still ran a school for learning how to properly wield a sword, whatever style was your preference. It was a strange business to thrive in the middle of London – almost miraculous – but it was always closed on the same few days every other week, when Master Kyo vacated the premises to go…somewhere. The rumors flew, but no one could figure out where the grumpy man disappeared to. (Had they known, they would have thought the truth far stranger than the many and varied stories had spread.)

Kyo vanished to a small, charming bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere that somehow – miraculously – was also only an hour outside of London. (Coincidentally, the exact amount of time Kyo could stand human modes of travel before he started to truly feel the urge to run to his destination on his own two feet.) This bed and breakfast was owned by none other than Tohru, and Kyo came so often to give Tohru’s guests relief from the monotony of Tohru’s cooking – or, so Kyo said as he headed into the kitchen. Tohru just smiled and thanked him when he arrived. (Repeat visitors to the B&B had a running bet going about which of the two would confess their feelings, how it would happen, and how much they and other visitors would get to see. So far, absolutely no one had gotten it right – none of them had realized that Kyo and Tohru were the most oblivious beings She had ever created, and hadn’t even realized there were feelings to be had yet.) Had any of his students ever visited, they would not recognize the blushing, stuttering mess that Kyo became during his visits – or, really, around Tohru. 

And so, their lives were filled with human interactions, reports to their respective bosses (in which Kyo always grossly exaggerated his evil deeds and made no mention of Tohru, and in which Tohru meticulously [exhaustively] noted every good deed and made no mention of Kyo), the occasional visit from other demons or angels, but mostly having only each other for supernatural contact – and, despite the increasing chaos of the world, their little bubble of it was generally quite peaceful. 

Then Kyo got the message about the imminent birth of the Antichrist.

*~*

More specifically, Akito’s lackeys summoned him to pick up the Antichrist and deliver the Spawn of Satan to the Satanic nuns tasked with the swapping of said Lord of Darkness with the actual child of his intended family – some American ambassador, although Kyo was too distracted with other business to remember a name. (No matter what, Kyo refused to let children die on his watch – and while he didn’t know exactly what the Satanic nuns had in mind for the extra baby, he wouldn’t take any chances; he snatched the baby himself and made sure it ended up at an orphanage with a good reputation [Tohru’s recommendation]; the child would grow up safely, at least.) He completed the job – to the pleasure of Akito and displeasure of the lackeys – and immediately went to visit Tohru. 

She was cleaning the kitchen when he slunk in. “Start the countdown clock,” he grumbled, “the world is coming to an end in eleven short years.”

Tohru made a surprised sound. “I don’t know where you heard that, Kyo, Shigure only just told me the news a few minutes earlier! The infamous Azael apparently dropped off the Lord of Darkness – or whatever your side is calling him these days – with his new family earlier this evening.”

Kyo squirmed internally at the mention of his original name, guilt rising before he ruthlessly shoved it back down. Not here, not now, not in front of her; he would deal with it later. For now, “Can’t reveal my sources,” he tsked, “you know that.”

Tohru chuckled. “One of these days,” she mock-threatened, waving her rag in his face, “I’ll figure it out.”

Kyo’s smile fell as she turned away from him. Not if he had anything to say about it.

“But,” she continued, “that aside, I had an idea. The Antichrist is supposed to grow into his evil side, right? Corrupted by the powerful family he’s going to grow up a part of and his natural heritage?”

“Yes…” Kyo hesitantly agreed, wondering where she was going with this. 

“I was thinking, what if he had a…positive influence in his life, not just the negative from his roots and adoptive family? What if the Spawn of Satan simply…didn’t grow up evil?”

Kyo just blinked at her, shocked at the sheer audacity of her – not even a plan, just a crazy idea. “That’s a crazy idea,” he blurted. “Even if your side could be convinced, mine would never allow it – ”

“Ah, but that’s the best bit!” Tohru turned her beaming gaze on Kyo. “If I was there alone, certainly it would not go over well with your side. But if a certain demon could finagle himself into a position where he could accompany me, act as a negative influence to counterbalance my own positive one…”

Slowly, Kyo started to grin. “Then my side would think we were getting one over on you, and your side would think you could soften the Lord of Darkness for the future – even if they still believe you couldn’t, they would see why the effort would at least be worth trying. Meanwhile, the Angel of the Bottomless Pit will be grow up under both Heaven and Hell’s influence…which should cancel each other out. The Antichrist should grow up completely normal – we could avert the Apocalypse,” Kyo mumbled wonderingly. “No losing the school, no losing my sword collection, no losing food and cooking…”

“No losing the bed and breakfast,” Tohru laughed. She grinned at him conspiratorially. “So! Are you in? Are you ready to become godparent to the Lord of Darkness?”

Kyo just grinned back at her, stomach swooping slightly at the thought of their sharing the status of godparent (like a real couple) – although he would never admit it out loud. 

“Alright, I guess I’ll be a part of your crazy scheme and make sure it doesn’t go too off the rails,” he teased.

“Off we go then!” Tohru cheered. 

*~*

The day after the ever-present cook retired and recently hired nanny of the Dowling family quit unexpectedly, luck was on their side – replacements arrived miraculously quickly. They introduced themselves as Kyo Sohma and Tohru Honda, who had been traveling together looking for work and were happy to fill the sudden holes in the Dowling household – Kyo was a marvelous cook and baby Warlock quickly proved to be a fan of Tohru’s. And thus, a demon and an angel settled into their new roles overseeing the upbringing of the Antichrist.

Kyo was a terrifying presence at first, his kitchen full of shouts, cutting glares, curses and threats; soon, however, his staff learned that Kyo was far more bark than bite, and as quick as his temper was to flare, almost every threat was empty – he had little tolerance for fools, but honest mistakes were quickly fixed and forgotten; if you could adapt and learn, you were safe in Kyo’s kitchen. Those who couldn’t hack it were quickly removed, and soon the demon’s kitchen was a smooth-running machine, far more than it was under the previous cook.

Once Kyo had complete control over his kitchen, then he allowed Tohru to begin visiting – and his staff saw a whole new side to their boss. Tohru and Warlock would come to visit the kitchens and the usually calm and controlled cook became a stumbling, stuttering mess. The kitchen staff delighted in this revelation and teased him mercilessly – but kindly, since they all didn’t want to embarrass Kyo so much that he started avoiding Tohru altogether; the two clearly enjoyed each others’ company far too much to risk that. Instead, the staff just watched over the two, getting more and more fed up with the complete infatuation the couple shared that was obvious to everyone except each other. 

But like the restaurant customers before them, they had no idea how to get the two to realize their feelings, considering that all (very carefully planned!) conversations with them separately ended with Tohru waving off the idea with a laugh (why on earth would Kyo have feelings for her? No, if he did, he would have said something – or she would have noticed – by now. No, no, the idea was preposterous. It would be, in some ways, perfect…but things like that only happened in romance novels, not real life.) and Kyo blushing fire-engine red and running off (why on earth would Tohru, a literal angel, have feelings for him? No, it was preposterous – he had committed too many sins, there was simply no way his despicable actions would disgust Tohru – and if she ever learned of his true identity, the infamous Azael? She’d never forgive him, not even his angel could forgive him those sins. He wished that these humans would stop saying these things, giving him those tiny moments of hope that were crushed so quickly by reality).

As Warlock grew older and Tohru’s visits to the kitchen became more frequent, Kyo began to adjust. He always had something cooking (or, more often, baking – Warlock had a wicked sweet tooth) and almost ready to be eaten right as the pair showed up; he always attributed it to coincidence, and Warlock always accepted the explanation, but Tohru’s knowing grin still made him blush and everyone else in the kitchen knew, even if they were forbidden to mention it. 

Kyo watched Tohru raise the Antichrist to be a surprisingly benevolent being – mischievous, certainly, but at his heart, a good kid. Warlock took advantage of Kyo’s affection for him a tad more than Tohru would like, but Kyo argued that better the Spawn of Satan have some minor bad habits than truly evil inclinations; it could be much worse. So Warlock grew up slightly spoiled, but certainly not corrupted to the degree that Hell (and Kyo, if he was being honest) was expecting. Time hurtled on towards Warlock’s eleventh birthday, when his hellhound would be released and the name Warlock would bestow on it would kickstart his Satan-given abilities.

*~*

And indeed, after Warlock’s eleventh birthday celebrations wrapped up (and the kitchen was finally clean), Kyo visited Tohru upstairs to see that the hound had appeared and was curled up sleeping with Warlock…although it was far smaller than he expected. “What’d he name it?” Kyo abruptly asked, interrupting Tohru’s chattering about the day. 

“Fido,” she replied, smiling at the adorable picture the boy and dog made.

Kyo just laughed. “Faithful, huh? Guess your nurture really has overcome his nature.”

Tohru just blinked at him. “What are you talking about?”

He gestured at the dog. “You know, the hellhound.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Kyo started to sweat. “I must have told you. Hell released a hellhound for the Antichrist, naming it would release his Satanic gifts…”

Tohru blanched. “That isn’t a hellhound, I picked it up from the shelter myself.”

He gaped. “So this…Warlock isn’t the Antichrist? There’s another kid, somewhere, that we haven’t been watching over, who just received a hellhound and world-bending powers.” 

(As mentioned previously, Kyo was distracted with spiriting off the extra baby during the Antichrist drop-off. What he didn’t know was that a second family had shown up at the Satanic nunnery right after the Dowlings – a local couple, the Youngs. The baby Kyo spirited away was the Dowlings baby (now living a perfectly average life after having been adopted quickly); the Young baby, named Warlock, was given to the Dowlings; and the Antichrist, named Hiro, was living in a small English village as the son of the Youngs, leading a subtly charmed life (including the sudden appearance of a stray dog on his eleventh birthday, one he quickly named Dog and convinced his parents to let him keep.)

He paused for a second before summing up, “So we’re fucked then.”

Tohru sputtered, “W-well. We don’t know where the actual Antichrist ended up, probably not with a powerful family like this one, maybe – ”

“Doesn’t matter,” Kyo interrupted, “the important thing is how to find him. Now that the hellhound’s found his master, he’s under the same protection – hidden from supernatural forces, just in case. How the fuck are we going to find him??” Kyo spat, slamming his fist down on the table next to him.

*~*

As quickly as they had appeared, Tohru and Kyo left the Dowlings household, the apocalypse truly beginning to loom over their heads. They had an Antichrist to find, but no idea of how to find him – or, they had no idea until Kyo thought of checking the Satanic nunnery for birthing records.

Unfortunately, the nunnery was not only no longer a nunnery, it had been rebuilt eleven years ago – after a great fire had burnt down the building, killing almost all the nuns inside and destroying any records. The lone survivor founded a new business on the same grounds, and recalled that there was a second couple, but only remembered the name and a vague description of their appearances – not where they lived.

“The Young family? Do you know how many Young families there must be in England?” Kyo muttered despairingly into Tohru’s (amazing, as always) coffee. 

Even Tohru seemed less optimistic than usual in the face of such a hopeless search. “Well…we know the Young family we’re looking for has to have a boy the right age…” she said slowly. “Perhaps we could use that to narrow down the search?”

Kyo groaned into his coffee. Tohru was right, that did help narrow it down some, but not enough – they were going to need help. And that meant talking to Haru Sohma. Dammit.

*~*

Haru Sohma was…an enigma. His business could be described as private investigator, but he had plenty of personality quirks to set him aside from most others. “Stubborn as an ox” was his defining trait, not to mention driven by compassion rather than money and a fearsome temper to avoid aggravating at all costs.

And Haru owed Kyo a favor…or a thousand. “Remind me again what he did to earn those favors?” Tohru asked innocently as they entered his apartment. 

Haru grinned back at her. “Kyo hasn’t told you that story? Well, let me then – ”

“There will be no stories told!” Kyo snapped, blushing madly and ignoring Tohru’s giggling (probably due to Haru mouthing something behind him) in favor of getting them out of there as quickly as possible to avoid any unnecessary information exchanging hands. “So,” he slapped a hand on Haru’s desk, “we have a week to find this kid – we know he’s aged eleven, last name Young, living in England…somewhere. What are the chances you can do it in that time frame?”

Immediately down to business, Haru replied, “By myself? No chance. With you helping…maybe?”

Kyo sucked in a breath. “If I told you Tohru had a…similar skillset,” he hedged, “what about then?”

Haru’s face cleared. “Oh, well, then it could totally be done. Five days, as long as you two can really keep working around the clock.” 

Five days. That would leave them with only forty-eight hours to get to the Spawn of Satan and hope they could talk the boy down from destroying the world…but it was better than having no time at all. “Alright then, let’s get cracking,” Kyo snarled, rolling up his sleeves. Tohru got that (adorable) determined look on her face and rolled up her sleeves too. 

Haru put them to work scrolling though endless records, pitching in as long as he could before falling prey to human exhaustion every other day. And at the end of the five days, the trio had not only combed through every Young family in the country, they had found what they thought was the location of the Lord of Darkness – Hiro Young, an eleven year old who lived in Tadfield, a little village in the English countryside. 

Kyo and Tohru raced to the location, hoping that their efforts had paid off – and indeed, when they arrived at the house and saw the boy playing with his dog in the front yard, Kyo knew right away. “That’s the hellhound,” he muttered, “but…everything seems pretty normal around here?”

Tohru frowned. “I have to say,” she started hesitantly, “the most present emotion I sense in him is…love. For his parents, for his village, for his friends, for his dog…of course, there are petty grievances as all humans have, but for a son of Satan to be so ruled by love…” She sighed happily. “Well, it’s something of a miracle.”

Kyo just grunted. Sure, the kid was happy-go-lucky now, but as his power grew? It wouldn’t hold forever. For now, best to try and talk to him, figure out what made him tick.

So an angel and a demon walked into a house to meet with the Antichrist. (Sounded like the beginning of a bad joke, Kyo thought distractedly as they entered through the garden gate.)

Hiro seemed suspicious but relatively calm as they approached him. “My parents told me not to speak to strangers, especially when they weren’t home,” he stated firmly.

“Oh, but we’re not strangers, not really!” Tohru responded. “We’re...”

“New neighbors,” Kyo quickly intervened. “Just coming by to say hello.”

Hiro relaxed. “Well, that’s okay then.” 

“So, Hiro,” Kyo asked, “you and your dog looked like you were having a lot of fun. How long have you had him?” He reached down to pet said dog, but like recognizes like and the hellhound growled warningly. 

Immediately Hiro grew suspicious again. “Which house did you say you moved into?” 

Neither Kyo nor Tohru had done any research into other houses in the neighborhood, or even if any were on sale currently. Kyo opened his mouth to see if any convenient and believable lies came to mind – only to find himself behind the wheel of his car, with Tohru in the passenger seat, driving on the road out of Tadfield. Kyo had no memory of leaving the house or entering the car, and neither did Tohru. “Well, that…did not go as expected,” Kyo growled.

Tohru smiled shakily. “We should try again.”

Deep down, Kyo knew it would be fruitless, but he couldn’t deny his angel. Try again they would. 

Kyo made a sharp U-turn back towards the Young house, and they were only a few feet away when suddenly the car sped up and zoomed past the intended destination. After a few minutes, Kyo wrestled the car back under control, turned around and tried again; only this time, the car sputtered to a stop two houses away. “Fine, fine,” Kyo grumbled, attempting to finish the journey on foot, but he hit several invisible barriers or found his feet swerving away from the house when he got too close. Tohru’s attempts were met with slightly less abrupt results, softer barriers and swerves, but refusals of entry all the same. They were unable to walk within ten feet of the Young household after that afternoon – their one chance to talk sense into the Antichrist, and Kyo had bungled it. 

He was in a foul mood on the drive back to London, Tohru’s attempts to cheer him up failing miserably, until she finally fell silent. Which added yet another sin to Kyo’s pile, what sort of monster was he, to make Tohru sad when all she wanted to do was cheer him up? But he couldn’t stop scowling and snapping at her when she spoke; he had to go and lick his wounds in private before he could be any sort of company she deserved. 

He destroyed five dummies with five different weapons before he had finally exorcised the worst of his rage; after which he went straight to Tohru’s bed and breakfast. He didn’t apologize with words, that had never been his way, but he did do all the cooking and the majority of the cleaning that night, letting Tohru relax before finally sitting down across from her.

“Okay, so Plan A didn’t exactly work out,” Kyo grumbled. “Any ideas for a Plan B?” Tohru folded her hand and regarded him carefully.

“I think,” she said hesitantly, “that we let him be.”

Kyo gaped at her.

“Well,” she gripped her hands together tightly (a nervous gesture, he could count on one hand the amount of times he had seen it but couldn’t pinpoint when it had started; in any case, it always caused a surge of guilt, that she was nervous around him.), “I just thought…”

Kyo swallowed his guilt and made sure his voice was soft. “What were you thinking?”

Her grip slackened. “The Antichrist seemed surrounded by love, not hate,” she continued, “and I think it’s well worth letting him stay in that environment for as long as possible. Yes, he’s a child, he’s going to have a surge of negative emotions large enough to fully trigger his powers sooner rather than later, but I think, with his upbringing, he may not need much convincing to come around to our way of thinking – I think pushing now would only harm our cause, better to leave him alone. At least for now.”

Kyo sighed. “When you’re right, you’re right,” he grumbled, smirking when Tohru lit up. “So, o knowledgeable one, what do you suggest we do aside from leave him alone?”

Tohru sat up straighter, gaze firming. “Keep an eye out for the Four Horsemen – when they ride, we’ll know it’s time. We’ll follow them to the final battle, where we’ll be able to talk to Hiro – if he can come around to realizing that the Apocalypse shouldn’t happen, I’m sure he can use his powers to put a stop to it all.” She nodded decisively.

Kyo could only smile at his angel. “Aye aye captain,” he saluted cheekily. 

Tohru flushed slightly – was she getting sick? – before clearing her throat. “For now though, you should probably head back to London and make preparations – maybe grab me a weapon of yours, just in case?” She grinned at him. “You know I lost mine.”

He laughed. “Your wish is my command, angel.”

She walked him to the door. “And I’ll let you know if I sense the Horsemen close by – you’ll do the same?”

“Of course.”

They smiled at each other and parted ways. 

*~*

It wasn’t for long.

The next afternoon, while Kyo was still deliberating between his two favorite swords for Tohru, he got a call. “Yeah?” he asked distractedly.

“Kyo, they’re here!” Tohru hissed.

He froze. “You mean – ”

“Yes! Get here ASAP!” And she hung up.

Blindly, Kyo grabbed one of the swords for her (his own was already on his hip) and raced to his car. He drove even more recklessly than usual the whole way, terrified that something would happen to Tohru before he could get there. 

When he finally burst through the doors, he thought that he was too late – the inside of the place looked like a tornado had whipped through it – but at the sound of his entrance Tohru popped out from behind the kitchen doors. “Good, good, Kyo, you’re here, let’s go – they didn’t leave that long ago,” and she yanked him back outside, practically shoving him into the driver’s seat before jumping in and vibrating in the seat next to him. Kyo, a little overwhelmed by all the emotional upheaval of the past forty-five minutes, tried to take a second to breathe – until Tohru smacked his arm. “Kyo, what are you waiting for? Go!” she cried, and Kyo went, zooming in the direction she pointed.

When they arrived at their destination, they were expecting the Four Horsemen – or rather Horsepersons, as Tohru corrected, since neither War nor Pollution used male pronouns – and Hiro to be there; but for some reason, so were Akito and an unfamiliar companion. Or, at least, unfamiliar to Kyo; Tohru seemed to recognize him. But before either he or Tohru could say anything, the unfamiliar person spoke. “So this is who you choose to stand by your side, to join your useless crusade against the Great Plan. A demon and a baby mud monkey - you abandon your own kind, your siblings, for this…filth.” His tone sharpened. “We always knew there was something wrong with you, but we never imagined you could stoop this low!” 

Tohru wilted under the onslaught of harsh words, from a supposed agent of “good,” and Kyo saw red. How dare this asshole look down on Tohru, who did nothing that wasn’t to help others, who was nothing but kind to everyone, who believed so strongly in the good inherent in everyone around her – how dare this asshole stomp on that kindness?

“Hey, dickwad,” Kyo barked, drawing his sword, “shut your mouth or I’ll do it for you!”

Had Kyo been thinking straight, he would have changed his voice, wouldn’t have spoken at all - but Tohru was one of the few hair triggers he had, even after all this time, and so he did none of those things, and Akito took notice.

“Azael? Is this the form you’ve decided to take among the humans?”

Kyo froze at the sound of his true name. He knew showing any weakness in front of Akito would be his downfall, but all he could think was Tohru can’t find out can’t can’t what could I even say – 

But even that train of thought shuddered to a halt at Akito’s cruel laugh. “Ohh, the angel never knew, I see. Playing the long game, eh? Time for the reveal, Azael,” and Akito snapped his fingers.

Kyo shuddered as he felt his human body melt into his true form – demonic, hunched; the form of the original tempter, a sin he would never be able to wash himself free of. And now…

When this moment came, when Tohru would finally see him for the evil that he was, he thought he would run, get out of there as fast as possible, to disappear and never have to face her again. But, as he heard her gasp of realization, all he could do was collapse, sinking down to the tarmac he was standing on and wrapping his large front paws over his face as Akito’s jeering laughter echoed in his ears. It’s over it’s over it’s all over…

Except, suddenly, Akito’s laughter cut off. Kyo took a look, and both Akito and Shigure were gone. He distantly heard Hiro sniff, “I hate bullies,” but he was far more occupied with Tohru’s slow approach.

“I – never wanted you to find out,” Kyo choked out.

Tohru smiled gently – the smile he thought he would never see again – and simply said, “I understand.”

Kyo cringed, blurting out, “I’ll go away, you never have to see me again – ” but cut himself off as she rushed forward, face twisting in pain.

“No!” she shouted. “No, no, promise me you’ll stay, you’ll come back to my bed and breakfast, keep cooking for me and smiling with me and…” She cut herself off, took a deep breath before repeating, “Promise me you’ll stay.”

Kyo thought he might have been dreaming, so he said the only thing coming to mind – “I promise, angel.”

And they would have continued to spill longheld feelings to each other, but they were interrupted by a haughty sniff. “Are you two done now? Can we get back to the ending of the world?” War spun her sword aggressively as she spoke.

Tohru and Kyo turned to face the four Horsepersons, ready to start the (almost certainly futile) battle, but Hiro stepped before them first. “As I said earlier,” he stated firmly, “there will be no ending of the world today. I refuse to lead you, and you will disband. Now.”

War gaped at the cheeky brat before her. How dare he! She slammed her fiery sword into the tarmac in front of him. “Oh yeah? I am inevitable!” she snarled.

Hiro rolled his eyes. “You are not inevitable. Peace is inevitable, there is no such thing as a war without end.” With his words, War slowly disintegrated, her shrieks fading as she did. Famine reached for the sword next, and Hiro rounded on him. “Hunger is a built-in drive for humanity, in small doses – you just need to be managed. And we will manage you.” So Famine quietly dissolved. Pollution merely stepped in front of the sword, face blank as they faced Hiro. “You are a persistent problem, but you are going to be solved sooner rather than later, due to scientific advances and my generation.” Pollution melted into the tarmac below. Hiro turned to face Death. “You…you are not something to be feared. Respected, yes…but not feared.” He bowed respectfully as Death slowly faded from view. 

Hiro, Kyo and Tohru stood alone on the tarmac. Their goal had been met; the Horsepersons had disbanded, and the Apocalypse had been averted. “So what now?” Hiro asked.

*~*

Tohru and Kyo knew that Heaven and Hell would not be happy to have been thwarted by the strange team they had formed with Hiro, and that for his safety it was best to hole up in neutral ground – Haru’s apartment, in this case, much to Kyo’s annoyance. Haru was delighted to house them as long as necessary (…and regale Tohru with completely untrue stories of Kyo’s good deeds, dammit). Kyo and Tohru were more concerned about Hiro’s safety than their own – but based on the face-off with Akito and Shigure happening only a few feet from the safety of the apartment, this was a mistake. Akito was armed with hellfire and Shigure with holy water; the only deadly (or, really, existence-ending) weapons that could be used angels and demons, respectively. 

As Akito started to throw a handful of holy fire at Tohru, Kyo stepped in – only for Akito to step out of the way of Shigure’s holy water jug. Kyo braced himself for impact, wings flying out instinctively to protect his face – but nothing happened, save for sudden gasps and silence. Kyo didn’t feel any pain, and he didn’t want to let Akito and Shigure get another chance at Tohru while he wasn’t looking, so he dropped his wings. As they swept out and around Tohru, he noticed that Akito and Shigure had vanished – and his wings were no longer the deep black they had turned as he Fell. Instead, they were a gorgeous green-blue color, with dots of white and brown peppered in. His wings were no longer those of a Fallen angel, burned by hellfire; they were the color of the Earth he had chosen to champion. 

Tohru’s wings, too, had taken on the earth hues instead of the pure white of Heavenly angels. Since they were no longer of Heaven or Hell, holy water and hellfire could no longer hurt them. Whether something else now could, Tohru and Kyo weren’t sure – but at least Heaven and Hell would back off, for now, since their main weapons had proven so ineffective. 

Now, Tohru and Kyo could relax. And Hiro could too – Heaven and Hell were leaving him alone, at least for now, and with his powers he had the advantage anyway. Kyo and Tohru still met up with him every now and then, checking in on him to make sure that he wasn’t abusing his powers or in any danger. When Hiro went off to college, they were shocked to recognize his new suitemate – Warlock. Or, Kagura, as she now preferred to be called, to the dismay of her parents. Kagura was just as surprised to see her nanny and cook suddenly show up at her college, but the awkwardness soon passed – Kagura and Tohru really hit it off. 

Soon holidays weren’t lonely for anyone in the group – they all met at Haru’s. Kagura and Hiro would travel from their college, Kyo and Tohru from either Kyo’s school or Tohru’s B&B, and Haru’s girlfriend Rin would show up; late and scowling, but she’d show up. As the revelries started to really heat up, the whole group teasing Hiro about his crush on a girl in his class, Kyo and Tohru headed to the kitchen, hands linked. Their little family was all together and safe, and they could relax and get on with cooking dinner.

They had been…dating, was probably the closest term (two supernatural entities starting to share their existences seemed to merit a lot stronger of a word than “dating,” but it hadn’t come to mind yet.), for over ten years now, and they knew they had the rest of their eternal lives stretching before them. Forever was a long time, and they would enjoy every second with each other, going forward.


End file.
